Definitions
A powerful whirlpool or state of turmoil.
Word origin
It is borrowed from early modern Dutch maelstrom (“whirlpool”) (obsolete) (modern Dutch maalstroom), from malen (“to whirl around; to grind”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- (“to crush, grind”)) + stroom (“stream; river; current or flow of water or other liquid”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *srew- (“to flow, stream”)), and was popularized by Edgar Allen Poe’s short story A Descent into the Maelström (1841).
Used in a sentence
“To his right fell a gleaming sheet of water, and below it was a maelstrom, that made one giddy by its terrific gyrations.”
“The falukah plunged over a waterfall and was almost submerged, was caught again in a maelstrom and went twirling on in the blackness.”
“A hulking shape burst through the doorway and hurtled down the corridor, leaving a maelstrom of air currents in his wake.”
Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Used as a crossword answer2 curated clues
01“Whirlpool turmoil”9 letters
02“Powerful whirlpool”9 letters
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